


Celebrate Life

by Kisuru



Category: X -エックス- | X/1999
Genre: Birthday, Canon Divergence, Drama, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2019-12-02
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:15:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21645880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kisuru/pseuds/Kisuru
Summary: Subaru finds out Seishirou's birthday is in one week on Rainbow Bridge. He is not impressed, and he will make Seishirou regret telling him the truth.
Relationships: Sakurazuka Seishirou/Sumeragi Subaru
Kudos: 20





	Celebrate Life

“You… You’re telling me…”  
  
“Yes. What better way to taunt you than with the power to kill me outright?”  
  
Subaru’s eyes widened. His arms pressed against his sides as though boxing him in from the suggestion he would kill him. Murdering him had been his dream for years—but his heart only constricted.  
  
He would _never_.  
  
“You heard me, Subaru-kun.”  
  
Subaru bunched his fists into a ball. He bit his lip, hard enough to draw a jagged line of blood, breath held. He absorbed the information he fed him mirthlessly. To him, the hard truth was all but short of egregious. His eyes glittered dangerously.  
  
Seishirou watched silently, bemused. Five minutes ago he had embraced the shift of power from himself to Subaru; he had readied himself for his triumph. After all, Subaru had a surefire annihilation tactic against him after revealing his personal secret, or something of the like. Why was Subaru’s facial expression in lieu of a pause, conflicted, loss of words? Most importantly, what was the emotional ingredient he could not decipher?  
  
"Your birthday is next week?"  
  
The power accumulating in his fingertips sizzled. He only needed to attack and activate Hokuto's spell rebound, feel the onslaught of blood pour from his chest while the legend of the Sakurazukamori transferred to him. But... Truth be told, he was intrigued with the question.  
  
"Naturally, birthdays are fragile things for those of our craft, Subaru-kun," he said. "I throw fire at your feet. To defeat me. Can you measure up? Reach my level? With a lethal, unstoppable weapon?"  
  
Now that he was aware of it, the date November 22nd meant everything that he had never been able to imagine. He had been forthcoming about his own birthday. He shared so many things during the year of the bet. Seishirou, though, had lied about his own birthday, and he sprung such an important detail on him _now_.  
  
Here, on Rainbow Bridge, instead of their date long ago. Back then, the knowledge of April 1st had enticed him to feeling as though they were on the same playing field. Subaru’s heart had grown fonder.  
  
What was he supposed to do with it?  
  
Death was the option. Not his life—not celebrating the life that killed Hokuto!  
  
It was not Subaru’s nature to be... angry. Not under these circumstances, but the advantage left him cold. He had hoped he would learn about him without fighting. The opportunity had passed. Even though they were prepared for a showdown, it meant nothing anymore. The anxiety that he had no alternative to offer him did.  
  
No ideas. No plans. No preparation.  
  
Subaru ran through the options in his memory. What could a present be? What did he enjoy besides spouting lies!?  
  
"You had to lie about yourself," Subaru said, voice low, dry and dark. Getting a present for someone he did not know (according to Seishirou) wouldn't fly. Yet he would buy anything in the world.  
  
Seishirou smiled. "You fell for it."  
  
And with that, he could match him. He would do exactly what he had told him to do; Subaru would fight that spite back.  
  
Subaru glared. Then, without another shred of acknowledgement Seishirou ruffled his feathers, he turned on his heel, resolve high. Seishirou’s surprised stare on his back thrilled him. He did not have to look back at his expression to feel the waver of spell. His trenchcoat fluttered in his wake as he outright walked away.  
  
"You are running away," Seishirou said, matter-of-fact. Now that he didn’t have his attention, something deep inside him stirred and didn’t approve of him leaving him in the dust. Ready to chase him and finish what he came to Rainbow Bridge to accomplish, he took a few steps forward.  
  
"It's your own fault for being a liar, and you will pay the consequences for your actions," Subaru said. "You'll hate your birthday gift." Forget listening to Hinoto’s prophecies, or the end of the world’s store of tricks. The moment of the past decade was upon him and he had to indulge in his selfishness. Not finding the perfect gift was the end of his own world. He would comb every inch of Tokyo for a decent gift that simultaneously infuriated and impressed the Sakurazukamori.  
  
Subaru soon disappeared down the length of the bridge and into the misty, gray late afternoon sunlight. Seishirou did not bother stopping him, mood shifting alongside the letdown he wouldn't die.  
  
He wouldn’t die.  
  
Subaru would buy him a gift.  
  
Gifts were gracious intention and good-will. Subaru threatening maliciousness, a peppering of sweet frosting on the cake, brought him unreasonable pleasure.  
  
The power in his palm slowly dissipated. Blood, heart, and lungs were all he had anticipated—hard, unrewarding pain. He would touch wrapping paper next.  
  
He chuckled. "You learned self-serving animosity. Adorable." Evading death and regret for one week may be worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> More what-if ideas are in my thoughts for this premise, but I decided to keep this simple. This is one way to canon diverge Seishirou’s death so he can celebrate his birthday! And actually want to do it.
> 
> [Originally written on Twitter thread.](https://twitter.com/KisuruFic/status/1196555983784488965?s=20)


End file.
